Original pieces?

[26Intrepid]

This must be civil war era month for me. I met a gentleman that has decided to sell his collection of civil war era pieces. Some of these items are heirlooms from his family that have been passed down. Sadly, nobody in his family is interested in being the next generation to preserve these pieces. I'm always interested in war weapons… but these don't fit my collecting profile.

I'm wondering if these reunion badges are genuine. Sorry, but these are the only pics I have. I'm running out of space in my gunroom for big pieces, but these smaller ones, if original, would fit nicely. Any help in this area would be helpful… also… what are these worth?

 

[JOHN42768]

They definitely look the part

 

[13thKyCav]

I've collected CW reunion ribbons for a number of years. They certainly appear genuine.
The ribbons with the celluloid photos and metal bars are worth more than most unadorned ones. However, like everything else, it's what a collector will pay, but I'd say it would be reasonable to think they're worth at least $80-$100 or more per piece.
As far as a more 'credentialed' opinion, I'd ask the folks at the Horse Soldier, as they have much more experience with them than myself.

Congratulations on being a curator for these pieces. Any collector would be happy to have them.

 

[26Intrepid]

Thank you for the info!

 

[UCVRelics]

Nice pieces and right as rain. There were 3 main companies that made items for both sides. Whitehead & Hoag, Pettibone and Schwabe & Co. Yours should be marked on the back of the pin and top bar. Condition is everything.

 

[Salterr]

Being from New Jersey myself, I always appreciate the reunion badges for the regiments and the badge makers being in New Jersey too

 

[JOHN42768]

Check out Everitt's site https://civilwarbadges.com/

 

[Salterr]

Check out Everitt's site https://civilwarbadges.com/

That's an excellent site, I don't use it nearly enough

 

[26Intrepid]

Nice pieces and right as rain. There were 3 main companies that made items for both sides. Whitehead & Hoag, Pettibone and Schwabe & Co. Yours should be marked on the back of the pin and top bar. Condition is everything.

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I agree, condition is always everything. Two of the three badges the seller has for sale look to be in pretty decent condition. One has the ribbon in two pieces looks like.

The seller has a lot of neat pieces… several letters from a great great uncle that wrote home while at war. The letters envelopes are in a frame (so are a few letters). All the items for sale were found in the sellers Grandfathers attic in Millburn, NJ (1980's). It's always a joy to find pieces with provenance. I'm waiting for a price list of all the items that he's selling… hopefully I will be able to add a few more Civil war era pieces to my collection.

Thank you again for the info

 

[Salterr]

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I agree, condition is always everything. Two of the three badges the seller has for sale look to be in pretty decent condition. One has the ribbon in two pieces looks like.

The seller has a lot of neat pieces… several letters from a great great uncle that wrote home while at war. The letters envelopes are in a frame (so are a few letters). All the items for sale were found in the sellers Grandfathers attic in Millburn, NJ (1980's). It's always a joy to find pieces with provenance. I'm waiting for a price list of all the items that he's selling… hopefully I will be able to add a few more Civil war era pieces to my collection.

Thank you again for the info

The letters would be great to read. J Mark Powell just wrote a book using soldiers letters to tell the story of the war through their own words and Griff over at sparedandshared transcribes them making them available for anyone to read

 

[26Intrepid]

Yes, I too think that reading these letters would be very interesting… that's if I can read their handwriting/script! The seller forwarded a translation to one of the letters… time was so different back then. Talking and writing was different back then too. Anyways, here's a few other things being sold (just in case anybody is wondering).

 

[Stryker65]

26th New Jersey is certainly a good regiment to have pieces for -- served with the Vermont brigade at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville.

 

[NH Civil War Gal]

I'm not an expert - not remotely - but GAR is one of my things. I have some ribbons from NH, specifically The Weirs, which was a HUGE GAR gathering spot. It was associated with Harriet Patience Dame. She was nurse to the Second Regiment New Hampshire Volunteers during its entire service. The Weirs spot was a big enough thing that even though the veterans were all dead, some of the grandchildren were still able to use that spot for their vacations in the 1950s before it was all sold off. There was a unique land setup there. @captaindrew we should meet up there and go over that whole area before the busy vacation season starts for you.

Anyway, if you look at GAR ribbons, especially the ones with a picture attached, in the early years of GAR, they usually have a picture of a younger looking officer on them. The 1880s and 1890s was when the GAR had great political power and influence. The ribbons from that time period can be very fancy and elaborate. As the 1900s come on and there is the big die off, you will see the ribbons get physically smaller, much less elaborate and expensive, and the pictures get much older looking and then disappear entirely in the last years.

Whitehead & Hoag were a Newark, NJ company that was famous for making advertising novelties and they dominated the market for years with badges, buttons and medals for businesses and political campaigns. They closed their doors in either the late 1950s or early 1960s.

Pettibone Bros. Mfg. and Co. were out of Cincinnati I think and were making badges, etc in the 1890s. The did silk flags, parade banners, badges, etc.

Schwab, Inc has been and still is in business. Someone on eBay has a GAR ribbon from them right now.

 

[26Intrepid]

Very interesting information. Thank you for taking the time… Merry Christmas!

 

[H. J. Durgin]

Thank you for sharing